Aside from Yagyu, 23 other candidates passed the second exam. Out of those, only six were not from Konoha; the rest... were all Konoha genin!
First, there were the 12 rookies, who alone took up twelve slots.
Because of Kiba Inuzuka, his two teammates also passed the second exam, bringing the total to 14.
Kabuto Yakushi and his two teammates, who were Orochimaru's spies planted in Konoha, took up another three slots.
Even though Yagyu had already eliminated the Sound ninja trio, three more Sound ninja had still managed to pass the second exam.
Clearly, in the five days since, Kabuto had learned of Tos and the others' deaths and reported it to Orochimaru. These three new Sound ninja were likely replacements sent in by Kabuto or Orochimaru.
Their goal was simple: to give Orochimaru an excuse to appear here.
After all, without the Sound ninja trio returning to report, Orochimaru didn't know if Sasuke Uchiha had used the power of the curse mark and whether he appreciated the "gift" he had been given. Orochimaru was likely here to observe Sasuke's reaction for himself.
So, including the 12 rookies, Kiba's two teammates, Kabuto's group, three Sound ninja, and Gaara's sibling trio, there were exactly 24 participants left!
" Cough, cough... I'm the proctor for this exam, Gekkou Hayate," came a weak voice.
After Hiruzen Sarutobi's speech, the proctor, Gekkou Hayate, appeared in a flash, holding a clipboard. His sickly appearance, with dark circles under his eyes and a frail demeanor, made many of the genin question if he really was a jonin.
But Hayate paid no mind to their stares and pointed at the large screen on the wall, saying, "Soon, the screen will display your names and randomly pair you up for matches. The names that appear will stay, and everyone else should head to the balcony on the second floor to wait."
"Before we begin the elimination matches, I need to confirm: is there anyone who wishes to forfeit?"
As soon as Hayate finished speaking, Kabuto stepped forward from the crowd, raising his hand. "I choose to forfeit."
"Your name is... Kabuto Yakushi, right? Understood, you may leave."
Hayate looked at his clipboard, checked Kabuto's name, and said, "With one forfeit, that leaves..."
"I forfeit as well."
"And me."
At that moment, two of the Sound ninja stood up, also choosing to forfeit.
The jonin present exchanged curious glances at this, though their expressions showed understanding when they noticed the bandages on the two Sound ninja.
They didn't know much about this newly formed village, but seeing the state of these two, it was clear that they were weak.
It was likely they had reached their limit, so their forfeits drew attention away from Kabuto.
"Understood, you may all leave," Hayate said, crossing off two more names. "With three forfeits, there are now 21 participants left. One person will have a bye."
"Since no one else is forfeiting, I declare the elimination matches to begin."
After waiting a few moments to see if anyone else would forfeit, Hayate pulled out a radio and signaled the examiners backstage: "Let's begin."
Whirr—
The large screen on the wall lit up, displaying the names of the 21 remaining participants.
After all the names appeared, a large "VS" symbol flashed between them. The names on either side of the "VS" cycled rapidly.
Soon, two names settled:
Sasuke Uchiha vs. Yoroi Akado.
Seeing these names, Yagyu couldn't help but chuckle to himself.
So much for random pairings—this was clearly rigged.
Had Sasuke's name not appeared first, Yagyu might have believed it was a coincidence.
But with it being the same as in the original story, it was obvious that Hiruzen Sarutobi had deliberately arranged this to ensure Sasuke could quickly be taken away to have his curse mark sealed.
"Sasuke Uchiha and Yoroi Akado, stay here. Everyone else, please move to the balcony on the second floor," Hayate announced.
Yagyu and the others moved to the balcony, standing beside their jonin instructors.
Kurenai Yuhi once again gave Yagyu, Hinata, and Shino a thumbs-up, smiling as she said, "Great work. Once the exams are over, I'll treat you all to some barbecue."
"Thanks to Hinata's Byakugan and Shino's bugs, we didn't need to waste time searching for the other teams or the central tower," Yagyu replied with a grin.
Hinata blushed shyly, while Shino, in his usual calm manner, said, "Yagyu's genjutsu was the key factor."
"Don't be so modest—you all performed excellently," Kurenai praised, patting both Yagyu and Shino on the shoulder before wrapping an arm around Hinata's shoulders. "Now, let's watch the matches. You can see how you measure up against the others and get a sense of your future opponents' abilities."
"Yes."
The three nodded in agreement, either standing or leaning against the balcony railing as they watched Sasuke and Yoroi face off below.
Yoroi Akado was one of Kabuto's teammates and an undercover agent planted in Konoha by Orochimaru.
It was no coincidence that Orochimaru's pawn had been matched with Sasuke.
Yagyu smirked at the thought. Master and apprentice are clearly both meddling with the matchups.
The battle began—and ended—quickly.
As in the original story, Sasuke, due to the curse mark, was unable to use his Sharingan, forcing him to rely on his academy-level skills to fight Yoroi.
However, Yoroi possessed chakra absorption abilities, making it difficult for Sasuke, already weakened by the curse mark, to defeat him.
Just as the curse mark threatened to spread further, Sasuke managed to suppress it with sheer willpower and defeated Yoroi using his newly developed Lion Barrage technique.
It seemed that Sasuke had indeed encountered Guy's team during the second exam, and Lee must have given him a proper "education" on the way out of the complex.
Orochimaru, watching Sasuke win without using the curse mark, grew even more intrigued by this vessel.
After the match, Kakashi took Sasuke away to seal the curse mark, while Orochimaru quietly slipped away.
The screen flickered again, and the names for the second match soon appeared:
Shino Aburame vs. Tsurugi Misumi.
"Well, that's it for me... No way I'm getting past this," came a despairing voice from the other side of the balcony.
Kiba's civilian teammate, holding his head in frustration, shouted, "I'm done for! Facing someone like Shino? I'm definitely out!"
Hearing this, Naruto shouted back indignantly, "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"
Tsurugi didn't respond to Naruto, instead drawing strength from Kiba and their other female teammate's encouragement as he steeled himself to face Shino.
As expected, the match ended with Shino's easy victory.
Unless a civilian ninja was favored by their jonin instructor, promoted to chunin, or exchanged military achievements for jutsu scrolls, they would be lucky to learn even one or two jutsu in their lifetime.
Moreover, civilian ninja often had very limited chakra reserves.
In the original story, Kakashi Hatake was shocked when Sasuke, a prodigy, could use a C-rank jutsu like Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu at such a young age.
Most civilian ninja didn't even have enough chakra to use a C-rank jutsu at this age.
Against Shino, who had been trained by his clan since childhood and could wield a wide array of insect techniques, Tsurugi was lucky not to have been knocked out in the first few seconds. Shino had clearly held back.
This world, where bloodlines ruled supreme, was indeed a harsh and cruel one.
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